Sunday, January 22, 2012

[Book Review] The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I first got drawn to the world of Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code and was eagerly looking forward to reading The Lost Symbol but sad to say, it's been so long since I added this title to my mental to-read list that I actually forgot about it. I'm being more organized now as I have updated my goodreads.com bookshelves to better track all the books I've read and to-read.

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling--a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object --artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist --is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet.

The opening line, "The secret is how to die" already grabs your attention, pulls you into the story with the question "Who is going to die and why is he chanting the phrase over and over?"; making you want to read more.

Following the tradition of the other two books, The Lost Symbol is ripe with mysticism, symbols, ancient Masonic secrets and baffling codes delivered in a very graphic, fast paced prose.

To conclude this review, I highly enjoyed it as much as all of Dan Brown's other works and The Lost Symbol, with many references to the Bible, makes me want to re-read and do an in-depth study of the Bible and understand the secrets to a bountiful life contained in its pages.

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